BUD Racing has long been a household name in the motocross paddock, and behind the scenes a lot of that organisation is now driven by Lili Dasse who is fallowing in her Father’s footsteps. The daughter of team owner Stéphane, Lili grew up immersed in the sport and has carved out her own path as race coordinator while also playing a major role in the wider BUD Racing business. From handling logistics and media to helping manage 25 employees, her role extends far beyond race weekends. We caught up with Lili as she opens up about working alongside her father, the family atmosphere that defines BUD, the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated sport, her ambitions for the future and much more.
GateDrop: Growing up with your father as the owner of BUD Racing, were you always involved in the sport from a young age?
Dasse: My dad has been involved forever in the motorsport. I was born in the motocross world and I have loved motocross since I was very young. I was also riding when I was young, I wanted to ride in races but my dad told me it’s not for girls, so I stopped racing. I was just coming to the races to enjoy and watch. After that when I was 13, I was friends with Brian Moreau and then I met people in the paddock and so my goal was to come every weekend after school.
GateDrop: At what point did you decide to work for the team full-time rather than pursuing a completely different career?
Dasse: When I was 18 and I finished school, I wanted to do a little bit more of studies, and then there was COVID, so I had an opportunity to work at the Dakar. I asked my dad, can I stop school, because I don’t learn anything and if I could go to the Dakar event and at the beginning to work with him. He told me, okay, let’s start for six months and we’ll see if we can work together or not. For me, I have wanted to work in motocross forever, I just didn’t know if it would match with my dad or not… but I have to say it is going very well.
GateDrop: Was there ever a moment when you thought about going down a different career path before being fully invested in BUD Racing?
Dasse: When I was two and a half, my grandmother told me that I was saying that I wanted to be the owner of BUD Racing. I think forever in my mind, I wanted to work for BUD Racing, but yes, to be involved in BUD Racing or in the motocross, but for me, BUD Racing was very much my goal.
GateDrop: For people who don’t know, can you explain what a race coordinator’s job actually involves?
Dasse: Actually, I work for the team as coordinator, but that’s not my only job. BUD Racing for those who don’t know, we are manufacturer and distributor of race parts, that’s our main job. It’s a shop, it’s a website, we have 25 employees, so that is my main job. The team is like 20% of my job.
For the team, I’m the coordinator, it means that I am managing who is going where, at what time, that everybody is on time, everybody wearing what they should be. For example, I validate all the planes, the hotel and all these kinds of things, I decide which gear they wear, at which weekend, like the strategy, all these things. After that I also do all the media for the team, all the contents, everything, so that’s what I do for the team. I also manage with my dad more and more.
GateDrop: How much behind-the-scenes work goes into making sure the team is ready for race day?
Dasse: It’s hard to say exactly because as I said, I don’t only work for the team, but it depends on the period. For example, before the season, I work mainly for the team, after when it’s like July, I work at the events, so it’s hard to say, honestly, it’s hard to say.
GateDrop: Can you tell me a little but about the other job you do for BUD Racing – that takes up most of your time? I actually didn’t really know about that…
Dasse: I manage most of the employees now. My dad is 53 now, so he has had enough of dealing with people, this kind of thing, so now I am managing the organization of our employees. After that, for the sales also, I work on the sales department.
For example, if you call BUD Racing for any problem, it could be me answering the phone. We also organize two big events at the BUD racing training camp, we are two girls organizing the two big events which are in August and September. We do all these things. We also have our own gear brand, BUD Racing gear which I validate the design with my designer and create all the references, everything. It is very busy then and I do many things.
GateDrop: How do you handle the pressure of dealing with logistics, riders, mechanics, and sponsors all at once? Do you enjoy it?
Dasse: Honestly, I love my job, so I don’t get stressed so much. I love what I do. Sometimes there is period very busy, where you don’t know where to start, what to do exactly, but at the end I really love what I do, so it’s not that stressful. I just take it with a smile and do my best.
GateDrop: What’s it like working so closely with your dad? Do you ever find it hard to separate family life from work life?
Dasse: I would say it’s more difficult for my sister who doesn’t like motocross. For example, during the day we always talk about motocross, motocross, motocross. So, of course, even at the family dinner, we talk only about BUD Racing and motocross… She doesn’t like motocross, she doesn’t come to any of the races. But, for me, my dad is really easy with me, he believes in me, he teaches me a lot of things, and for me he’s the best manager I could have, and I have the chance to do what I want… he lets me do a lot of things, he listens to my ideas, believe in it. It’s good and I really like to work with my dad.
GateDrop: How do you balance being professional at the track while still having that family connection within the team? Can that be difficult or perhaps it’s something you don’t even think about too much?
Dasse: For me, it’s the key to our team, the family side. We are really close, even with the mechanics and with all the staff, it’s like one big family. We see each other every week, afterwork also and that’s how it works. It means that when we have young riders, it’s easier for them to gain confidence in us and all these kind of things. I wouldn’t change anything… I really like my staff, my crew, and the way we work in a family team.
GateDrop: You’ve worked with riders from all over the world—how do you help them adapt to the BUD Racing environment?
Dasse: Where we live, it’s easier than having riders, for example in Lommel. We live in a really good place in France, Hossegor. It’s at the beach, so the atmosphere is really good, it’s a surfing area. And after that, as I said before, we are really a family team. So, when the riders arrive, for example, we invite them, we take the riders like they are the son of my dad or like my brother. We invite them to a lot of things, and we try to include them as much as possible in the team. We are all young, so I think arriving in our team is easy.
GateDrop: I’ve noticed that BUD like to take calculated risks with riders. You guys don’t mind signing riders outside the GP paddock and look to the likes of America, Austria and even Chile. Is that something you guys enjoy and is it likely to continue moving forward?
Dasse: That’s more my dad’s thing, he loves to do that. But we always try to take a French rider because we are a French team, and when there is a good French guy, we try to take him. But sometimes, there is no French rider we really believing in, so it means we need to find other riders. When we don’t find what we want in Europe, we try to take risks and go abroad. It works for us because we did really good things with riders nobody knew in Europe. Now we have Jake Cannon from Australia, who already did a podium this year. We enjoy it a little bit of the unknown and the suspense it can bring.
GateDrop: Obviously in the past your Dad would have made the decisions on what riders to sign, is he still the boss in that regard or are you involved in discussions about which riders to sign now you are co-ordinator of the team?
Dasse: My dad is still the boss of course but I know everything about the decisions. We talk about every rider, I know about what all is going on and I give my point of view also. I am in the paddock every weekend, I might not have the technical eye, but I also have another eye, and of course in the end we decide together.
GateDrop: At the moment, BUD Racing focus on the EMX250 series in the paddock at the moment – long-term will that be the focus or could we see you line up in MX2 again in the future? Or perhaps even WMX – Jake’s sister is fast (laughs)…
Dasse: That’s right, she is fast. Last year, I actually pushed my dad to step up to the MX2 World Championship with Mathis Valin. I really liked that rider last year and I really wanted to go MX2. But my dad told me, Lili, we are good in what we do, and we should focus on what we do. So I mean, EMX250, French Championship, WSX, and also for the business, because the team is not where we gain money. Where we gain money is our business, so selling parts.
If you do MX2, you do only MX2 and now doing EMX250 we can do other races. We can do the French Championship, we can do the Le Touquet in February, we can also go to USA in January. We can go and do the WSX series and visit many countries where we can sell parts. For the moment, the goal is to stay like this. As for WMX, why not? Depending on the opportunity… but maybe.
GateDrop: Has there been any riders who left a particularly strong impression on you during your time in the team in terms of their work ethnic and talent?
Dasse: As a team we have saw and worked with so many riders. I’m not working for the team for that long, it’s been around 5 years now. But I would say Brian Moreau first… When he was behind the grid he was like another person. I don’t know any rider like him. When he was behind the grid, you see his eyes in the goggles, and you remember this forever. He really wanted it, so for that, I will always remember Brian.
After, Brian, then Mathis for his mental strength. For example, if we were going for the track walk and he said, this weekend I feel good, I’m going to do 1-1. When he says that then he goes and does the 1-1. Together with my dad, we were really impressed because it never happened with another rider. He was really confident last year so I was also impressed with that.
GateDrop: What’s been the most stressful race weekend you’ve had to deal with so far?
Dasse: We have a lot of stressful weekends (laughs). But for example, this year I would say Matterley Basin because we did a double podium with our riders. We won and we finished third. Jake was fighting all the weekend for the podium and he was more doing top 10 results at the beginning of the season so it was stressful. Another example, in Paris two years ago, we were fighting with Vialle and Shimoda and we won one race in front of them. So these kind of things and I have a lot of good memories.
GateDrop: On the flip side, what’s your favourite memory working for BUD Racing so far?
Dasse: Working for the team, I would say the EMX 250 title was amazing because we did this championship for maybe 10 years, and we never won it. We did a lot of good things, and we’ve been in many races but never won the championship. Last year was really special because we had a really good team with Mathis (Valin) and Benjamin (Garib), the Chilean rider. We were always together, even hanging out together. So, it was even more special. So yes, I would say that is the best memory.
GateDrop: Motocross is still male-dominated—do you think your role helps show that women have an important place in the sport?
Dasse: Yes, I think we are still in the men’s world and that it’s harder for a woman to work in this world… For example, I am a woman. I need to work harder to show what I can do. You are a man, you ride in motocross then you have more chance than a girl. But I think there are more and more girls in the paddock. I work a lot to get my place, and I think now I have my place in the paddock and I am not just known for being a blonde girl with long hair. I am now known for who I am and the work I do so I am proud about that. I hope this inspires other girls to come and work in motocross.
GateDrop: Have you faced any challenges as a woman in such a fast-paced, male-heavy environment?
Dasse: Yes… Many. But I would say away from the team. For example, when I take the phone for after-sales or this kind of thing… Sometimes people don’t know it’s Lili and they see me as just a girl. They say they want to speak to Stéphane. I say, no, no, it’s my job. But they still say they want to speak to him. My dad knows that they don’t want to talk to me because I am a girl. He says, oh, no, I don’t know anything about that, it’s only Lili and he gives the phone back to me. This kind of thing is challenging but he helps me also on that, so I like it.
GateDrop: We have to talk about Mathis Valin – last year, EMX250 champion. There’s no way you’d have expected that at the start of the season, right? From round one right until the end he was awesome as a rookie – you must have been very proud?
Dasse: Yes, because we need to remember that two years ago, he was racing the EMX125 class with a private team with no parts. I mean it was a really good team, but he was buying almost everything… He was far away from being a factory rider. So, we signed him for three years, it was a two-year contract plus one at the beginning so of course, we didn’t expect anything about what happened last year. We won Le Touquet, we won the French championship, we won the EMX250 championship. It was crazy. It was really crazy. The atmosphere was also crazy in the team and it was really good. It was the best year ever.
GateDrop: Most people only see Mathis ride around the track, but what’s Mathis like as a person and off the track?
Dasse: He’s a really good guy. He is really calm and determined. He works very hard and he knows what he wants. He wants to be world champion, he wants to go to USA, he wants to win. He will do all he can for that. Apart from that, he’s really kind, he’s a good listener, always helping his friends, he is respectful and of course the best as I chose him to be my boyfriend.
GateDrop: Mathis got a factory contract with Kawasaki. How did you guys feel about that? Did you try and keep him?
Dasse: No, honestly, we never wanted to keep him because we just wanted the best for him and for every rider we have, we want the best for them. We know he won the EMX250 title, he won everything last year. But when there is a ride in the factory team, we actually pushed him to go. As I told you, my dad told me, no, we don’t do the MX2 World Championship. It will not be the best for Mathis, he can go there and it’s the best for him. So, OK, we sent him there and we are proud because it’s Kawasaki. We work with Kawasaki for 20 years next year and so we are proud when we have good riders. We can send them to the factory team now and so that’s our goal. We were actually really happy.
GateDrop: I can’t believe that you’ve been to most GP’s this year but missed Loket where he got his first podium, you must have been so proud watching from home? I was there and I can tell you he was awesome!
Dasse: Of course, I was very proud of him. I knew he could do that since the beginning of the season but it’s not always easy. We need to remember it’s his first season racing in the MX2 World Championship. I was a little bit sad not to be there but hopefully he does that again soon and then we can enjoy it together.
GateDrop: BUD Racing don’t get much time off because you guys are also involved in WSX and have been from the start. What’s your thoughts on WSX – you get to visit some different parts of the world!
Dasse: We are really motivated since the beginning with the World Supercross Championship. We really believe in this championship. For example, I went one time to a MotoGP and it’s so full of people. There are maybe 100,000 people per MotoGP and you don’t see anything. I enjoyed my weekend but I was like, Supercross needs to be famous. Because Supercross is another atmosphere in stadium, in big city and you see everything. For me, it can really be the future of off-road. I believe in this championship really a lot.
The promoters are really helping the teams as well. We have a lot of meetings with them. We went to London two months ago to talk about 2025 and 2026. They really listen to us, and we try to help them grow the championship. That’s the goal of all the team and also the promoters. We are really happy to work for this championship and to go there again this year.
GateDrop: What’s your thoughts on Infront Moto Racing and the job they do? And do you think they could help the teams a little bit more?
Dasse: Infront, for me, I can say is not the best promoter. It’s more difficult to work with them because we don’t feel really listened by them. Sometimes I feel like the MXGP factory teams, they are the boss and we are sh*t. But I think to make more than 12 riders in MX2, you need teams. We see a lot of teams stop with MXGP because it costs a lot. For example, we stopped MX2 a lot of years ago. There were going to be more and more races… We couldn’t do it. Now, this year there was 13 EMX250 rounds for the young riders. It was a lot, you know, it’s too much.
My dad is involved in the paddock since maybe 20 years, a lot of years and everybody knows him, and he cannot even go to the pit lane to watch MX2. He cannot even go. He has an EMX250 team, you come with the team, you bring riders, you pay, everything. You can go in the pit lane for EMX, but you cannot go in the pit lane for MX2, you know. We try to send riders to MX2 and we cannot even go and watch them in pit lane. So for me, there are some things that are not good.
GateDrop: Where do you see yourself and BUD Racing in the next five to ten years?
Dasse: The boss, I hope (laughs) No, I’m joking. I hope my dad will stay as long as possible to teach me a lot of things. But for sure, in the future, I want to be the manager in the team and the boss in the company. So that’s my goal. I need to work very hard, but that’s my goal in the next 10 years.
GateDrop: Finally, looking ahead to 2026, I believe Jake and Francesco both have contracts so the team will remain unchanged? I am sure the goal will be to challenge for the title again next year!
Dasse: Yes, in 2025, we did a really good season and we actually didn’t expect it to be that good. We took two young riders, 17 years old. The goal was to build this year and to try to win next year. We have actually won five rounds of the EMX250. It was a really good season. Of course, the goal next year is to win and to do as many podiums as possible, because we have two riders, so they cannot both win the championship. We really believe in our riders. We do it like this with the contracts, normally, the riders sign two-year contracts. One year we build, and the other year we try to win with them.
GateDrop: And just on Francisco, obviously, he’s very new to this class. Did you expect him to be so good this year? Because coming into this season, a lot of people thought it was going to be the Janis Reisulis show… But actually, Garcia has already won quite a lot. He’s had a bit of bad luck with bike issues and stuff otherwise, he could probably be closer to the front…
Dasse: Yes, even me. I was thinking Janis Reisulis would win everything. So we were surprised in a good way with Francisco. We knew he was a good rider, but we knew also he was crashing or pushing too much and not thinking really about the race strategy or these kind of things. We knew he was a really good rider in the sand also. This year he worked a lot with our trainer and with the team and he really took maturity, a lot of maturity. I think this helped him a lot this year and we did a really, really good season with Francisco.
He’s strong physically and mentally… I think he’s good with us so I really believe we can win the title next year but we are proud of him for this year.
